Taapsee Pannu, known for her strong women-oriented roles, has had her share of failures and lows.
Currently relishing in the success of 'Mission Mangal’ where she shared the screen with other powerhouse performers like Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar, the 32-year-old ‘Badla’ starlet, in an interview with a daily, recalled the time she was written off as bad luck.
This incident goes back to the time to the year 2009 when Taapsee shifted from Delhi to Hyderabad to pursue a career in acting.
Despite working hard on learning the language, her films failed to produce results at the box office. Some filmmakers in the South film industry were quick to write her off as bad luck. The statements not only bothered the actress but also alarmed her.
"The producers were not casting me because they thought my five scenes and two songs in the film made a hell lot of difference to the film's result because I'm sheer bad luck. That was hurtful and scary because it questioned my credibility and existence at a point. But thank God, that part didn't take over me and I survived," Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.
Somehow, she didn't allow it to kill her esteem and sustained the cynical phase. Not only did the tide turn in her favor in South films, but she also made a thriving crossover to Bollywood.
"When you're not from a film background and work to carve a niche, people try and paint a different image of the film industry. I was told, 'Everyone will pounce upon you or take advantage of you'. And if you enter the industry, you'd have to bend backward or do things against your morals. It was a scary image for a girl who was sitting in Delhi having a middle-class life. Thankfully, the image didn't turn out to be true and I didn't compromise on her ethics or bend rules to fit in," she remarked.
Today, Taapsee is deemed to be an actress of substance which she has proved film after film with 'Naam Shabana', 'Pink', 'Mulk', 'Manmarziyaan' and the recent, 'Mission Mangal'.
Cinegoers are now looking forward to her upcoming films like 'Stand Ki Aankh', ' Tadka' and 'Tapped'.
The actress now looks back at the phase with pride. The films that didn't well, she says, are like her battle scars that she's proud of. It makes her believe in the age-old saying that what does not kill you only makes you stronger.